Love, Lessons, and Life
by ErikaaDiLante
Summary: Tony and Ziva's relationship survived many interesting events. These are just some of them.
1. The Birthday Party

**Here it is! The sequel to "The Mini Team". I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as the first. I'm planning on making this one a little bit longer, so please keep reviewing, and (obviously) keep reading!**

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Erika sighed as her legs dangled down from the tree. She loved this place so much. Maybe that's why she had decided to bury them there, or maybe that was why it was her favorite place. She loved the way the wind felt in her hair, the way the flowers seemed to multiply every time she went there, and of course, the way it seemed like they were still with her. Erika could still see her mother's deep brown eyes and her beautiful laugh. The laugh that always made things better. She could still see her father's broad smile, glasses crooked from racing to dinner. She could still see Dan, the way he would run his fingers through his hair, the way he made her smile at everything. Two years ago, Erika pushed those memories away, but now she embraced them. She remembered something her cousin had said to her.

_Flashback_

_"What's wrong, Erika?" The girl couldn't help but cry._

_"Nothing."_

_"Listen...about your parents...and Dan..."_

_"I don't want to talk about it ok! Just leave me alone!" Instead of leaving the room, Ziva put her arms around Erika in a hug._

_"Listen. I know how much it hurt to lose your family. To lose everything you care about in one moment. But they don't have to be gone for good. You have to remember them, not what happened, not what you could have done to stop it, just them. Trust me, I've been there. It's hard to get your mind off their actual death, but if you focus on a smile, a laugh, a memory, anything, then it will be all right." The girl looked up at her older cousin. She hadn't been expecting such an emotional response..._

_End Flashback_

Just as Erika was going to go for a swim in the river below, she saw a young girl bounding towards her.

"Erika!"

"Yeah!" Hannah looked up to see her sister in a giant oak tree.

"Ima wants you to come back. She made lunch for us." Erika blinked.

"Did you just call Ziva mom?" Hannah nodded.

"She is. Officially and unofficially." Erika smiled slightly. Hannah looked up at her sister, wonder showing in her eyes,

"Are you ok, akhot?"

"Yeah. Be right down." She put two hands on a solid branch and swung down from the tree. Her feet landed on the ground with a solid _thud. _She put an arm around Hannah and they walked the short distance back their house. When they walked in the door, they walked into a loud bustle of activity. Erika looked around seeing nine familiar faces. They were all beaming at Erika when they shouted

"Surprise!" Erika turned to her cousin.

"Jeez Ziva, did you invite _everyone_?" Ziva smiled.

"I just wanted everyone here to celebrate." It was Erika and her twin brother Charlie's sixteenth birthday. It had been two years since Ziva moved in with Erika, Charlie, and their younger siblings Hannah and Ben. Erika gave Ziva a hug.

"Toda."

"Don't thank me. This was all Tony's idea." Erika now turned to her cousin's boyfriend. Tony and Ziva had been going out since Erika got her own team at NCIS two years ago. They had had to go undercover as an engaged couple to keep Ziva's father busy while the team searched for Hannah (who he had kidnapped). They someone managed to figure out they actually had feelings for each other.

"Is that true, Tony?" Tony smiled his famous DiNozzo smile.

"Hey, it wouldn't have come together without everyone's help."

"Everyone?"

"Well, let's see...Kylie was the first one I suggested it to. She spread the word to everyone and made a list of who was coming. Speaking of which, Gibbs wanted me to tell you that he couldn't make it. Probably too busy working on the boat. The Director..." Tony stopped when he saw Erika wince at the mention of Director Jenny Sheppard. Ziva wrapped an arm protectively around Erika and finished the list Tony had made.

"Ari, Leif, and Nick helped us decide on a present, and Ben and Hannah helped me in the kitchen." Erika and Charlie looked at their younger brother, shocked.

"Ben did what?"

"He and Hannah helped me make all the food for the party." Erika raised her eyebrows.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Charlie patted Ben on the back.

"Wow, Benny boy. I guess you are useful after all." Ben just rolled his eyes. They continued talking about pretty much everything until the cake was done. Then they sang happy birthday and all ate cake and ice cream.

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**Tada! Please review! Keeps me going.**


	2. Abby

**Sorry it took me so long to update, but here it is. I'm also working on another fanfic that should be posted shortly. You know the disclaimer drill, it's the same every time. Don't own NCIS characters. Do own everyone else.**

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After the party, mostly everybody went home. Erika was having Kylie sleep over, and Charlie was having Leif sleep over. They were all out on the deck. The sky was clear and all of the stars were visible.

"So," Charlie said with an arm around Kylie's waist, "where do you think Abby and McGee were? I mean, Gibbs and Jenny I can understand, but Abby? She never turns down a party." Erika sighed and looked up at the stars.

"I don't know. I'm starting to get the feeling some people at NCIS don't like me."

"Well McGee likes you, and it's not possible for Abby to not like anyone."

"That's actually not true." Everyone jumped when they heard Tony's voice.

"You're..." Erika shot Kylie a look that she felt rather than saw (considering it was dark).

"What do you mean that's not true?"

"She hated Ziva when she first started."

"Why?" Even in the dark, Tony could feel Erika's eyes on him, probing him for an answer.

"Ziva reminded Abby of someone...Someone we had just lost.. It wasn't Ziva's fault, but Abby held it against her. We all did." Everyone could tell Tony was fighting back tears. Kylie squirmed a little bit under Charlie's arm.

"I'm sorry Tony."

"It's alright, I mean, I still miss the other agent and all, but after I saw that Ziva was going to be working with us, I felt a little better."

"It was Ari, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"My cousin, Ari. He killed Kate right?" Tony inhaled quickly. He was shocked that Erika knew Kate's name. As if reading his thoughts Erika responded.

"Apparently you haven't learned by now. I've known Gibbs my whole life. I knew him when Kate was killed. I...I knew Kate." Erika looked down. Tony was about to say something when Ziva called him.

"Tony!"

"Yeah?" Tony retreated into the house.

"So...where were we?"

"Discussing why Abby and McGee missed our birthday."

"Who says I missed it?" Erika looked up to see Abby.

"Abby! Hey!" Abby, of course, gave Erika a hug.

"So, which one's your brother?" Abby hadn't actually met Charlie. Charlie stood up.

"Charles Andrew DiLante," he said while offering Abby his hand. Kylie burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she was rolling around on the ground. Erika and Leif were trying (and failing) to contain their laughter.

"What's so funny? Is he your brother or not?" Abby was confused, which didn't happen often.

"Oh he's my brother, it's just..." Erika broke down laughing.

"Care to explain Leif?" Abby stared at Leif.

"Call him Charlie, please."

"Why?"

"That's what everyone calls me. I just wanted to see if you'd call me Charles."

"Oh." Abby punched Charlie's arm.

"Ow! Will you stop? Erika's already done that to me like twenty times today! I'm going to have a bruise!"

"Man Kylie, your boyfriend's a wimp." Abby turned to Kylie.

"You guys are going out? Oh my God you could like end up getting married and then you and Erika could be like sisters. And that would be so fun!" Erika couldn't help but smile at Abby's outburst. She was just such a happy person. Sometimes Erika wished she could be that carefree. _Unfortunately, __having one parent in Mossad and another in NCIS...wait a minute..._Erika gasped. This didn't go unnoticed by anyone, especially Leif.

"What is it?" Of course Leif was the first one to ask the question.

"It's...it's nothing."

"The look on your face doesn't say it's nothing."

"How can you see my face, we're in the dark?" Leif, sighed, she got him on that one.

"Fine. If you don't want to tell us what's wrong, you don't have to talk about it." _Damn him._ Leif knew that Erika didn't like to be pressured. Whereas his sister or Nina sometimes pushed Erika to tell them what was wrong, and took it personally if she didn't tell them, Leif didn't push. Whenever he didn't push she always told him. He knew that.

"I was just thinking about how much Tony and Ziva are like my parents." Kylie jumped up.

"Oh my God!"

"What?"

"You are so right!" Kylie began to jump up and down with excitement. Everyone was staring at her.

"What?"

"Over-reaction much?" Everyone laughed.

"So, Abby, what took you so long?"

"Me? Oh, I had to finish up some stuff in the lab. Gibbs and the Director wouldn't let me leave."

"Oh." Erika fought back tears. Sure, it was nice her friends had been there, but the two people she wanted there the most were making absolutely no effort to get out of work.

"Are you OK?" This time it was Charlie asking.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to bed now. See you guys later." Charlie checked his watch. It read 9:00 P.M. Erika never went to bed before 9:30. Something was definetly wrong, and he expected it had something to do with Gibbs and Jenny not being there. Abby walked up to Charlie.

"Is she going to be ok?"

"Yeah, she just takes everything personally. She thinks Gibbs and Jenny chose not to be here." Abby didn't have the heart to tell them that they did.

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**More explanations in the next chapter, I promise. I also promise the next one will be a little bit longer, but I'm working on the other fic so it might not be up for awhile. And also my birthday's on saturday, but I promise it will be up in the next week or so.**


	3. The DiLante Case

**I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter. I just had to end it where I did (you'll see if you read). About Dan, I'll explain later. I promise. By the way, I still don't own anything but the characters that have not appeared in the show.**

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Erika was the first one into work the next morning. Leif, being a couple of months older than her, had already gotten his driver's license, so he dropped Erika off at NCIS and was going to drop Kylie off at her favorite coffee place. _Tipical Kylie for you. She would never come into work early._ It didn't take much longer for Ziva and Tony to walk in. Erika looked at the clock on her computer. It was only 6:30, and work started at 7:00. Ziva picked up on her cousin's confused look.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just...Tony DiNozzo? Early? To work? Since when did the temperature in hell drop down to zero degrees?"

"Ha ha," Tony said, giving her a playful look. Ziva looked confused.

"What?"

"You know the saying when hell freezes over?"

"No."

"Of course you don't. You know what, never mind. It's not important."

"Everything is important to you, DiLante." Erika froze when Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"Something I can do for you this morning Special Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs whirled around and walked over to Erika's desk.

"Yeah. Get to work!" Erika crossed her arms.

"On what case?" Gibbs inwardly cursed himself. He couldn't let his underlings see him not knowing what to do, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"The DiLante case." He regretted it the moment he said it. Erika's face hardened. Gibbs had known her long enough to know it was the face she made when she was trying to block her emotions out. Her voice was ice when she finally spoke.

"On it boss." She saluted Gibbs sarcastically and stalked towards the elevator. The rest of her team and McGee were stepping out as she was stepping in.

"Erika..." That was all Ari could get out before the doors closed in her face. Nina stalked up to Gibbs.

"Gibbs?" He stared at her, but the rest of the team only got closer to him. He looked around at the young adults cornering him into admitted something he didn't want to admit.

"I made a mistake." Leif now stepped forward, dead serious. Gibbs smiled inwardly. Oddly enough, the boy reminded him of himself when he was 16.

"What did you do?" Gibbs took a deep breath.

"I told her to work on the DiLante case."

"I thought that case was closed." The team looked up to see Jenny staring at Gibbs.

"It was. Not anymore."

"What's come up?" Tom and Leila DiLante had been her best friends. They had all gone to college together, and they had all gone through training together. They were the first team she had. Without them, she would have never made it to Director status.

_Flashback_

_The four young adults sat around the table. They were all laughing._

_"God Tom! And to think I always thought I would end up with her," a younger Gibbs said. He clapped the other man on the back. The man's brilliant green eyes were sparkling through his glasses. Sitting next to him was his fiancé. The woman just looked at Jenny and shook her head. They were such good friends. Suddenly the laughs turned to screams. There was the sound of an airplane engine, then an explosion._

_"I'm sorry Jenny, they're both dead."_

_End Flashback_

Jenny snapped out of her flashback just in time to hear the new evidence Gibbs had found in the case.

"They didn't die in the crash. Someone killed them..."

"We already knew that Jethro, it was Chancerry. We already found out who he was so case closed." She started to walk away but Gibbs kept talking.

"That's what I thought too. Until I received another letter."

"Who has he taken this time?"

"No one. He just wanted to let me know he was alive and well. The Deputy Director just used his pen name as a distraction. He's not the bastard that killed them." Both teams were just staring at the exchange going on between the two adults. By the looks of it, none of them knew what they were talking about. Jenny shook her head sadly.

"We're going to get this bastard Jethro. We owe it to them." Gibbs nodded.

"I know Jen."

Erika was still fuming when the elevator doors opened to the parking garage. She sighed. How the hell am I going to get home?

"Need a lift," a familiar voice said. She turned around to see the face of a woman she thought she'd never see again. The woman was wearing jeans and a purple V-neck T-shirt. Her dark, almost black hair fell about half-way down her back. The olive skin shown by the T-shirt was complemented by a silver Star of David. Erika looked up into the woman's brown eyes.

"Tali?"

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**So sad...Don't worry! All will be explained. Please review! I could use all the help I could get. Also, if I take awhile updating, it's because of my stupid summer reading. That, and my birthdays on Saturday, so...ya!**


	4. Tali

**So...here it is. We now meet Ziva's sister. Yes the one that was supposedly blown up. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Disclaimers the same as its always been.**

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_The olive skin revealed by the T-shirt was complemented by a silver Star of David necklace._

_"Tali?"_

"Is it really you?"

"No. I'm Tali's ghost. I've come back to haunt you!" Tali poked Erika just below the ribcage. Erika jumped.

"Ah! Tali! So not funny! You know that's my weak spot!" The cousins just smiled at each other for a few moments.

"I thought you had no weak spots."

"I thought you were dead." Tali sighed.

"I have been working on a deep undercover operation to bring down the Hamas cell that killed my mother. No one could know I was alive, not even my dearest cousin in the world."

"What about Ziva?" Tali was shocked at her cousin's question.

"I do not know. I have not seen her since the day of my death."

"Doesn't that feel weird?"

"What?"

"Talking about 'the day of your death'?" Erika decided not to push Tali on Ziva. The sisters would be reunited soon anyway. Tali smiled.

"Yes, it is a bit. So what have you been up to yaldah g'dolah?" This was Tali's special nickname for Erika. It meant "big girl".

_Flashback_

_A young girl, about six years old, ran to her cousin Tali._

_"Tali, will you tell me another story?" The girl, of course, spoke in Hebrew. So did her cousin._

_"Well, there is only one story I can think of that I haven't told you, and it is a very scary story."_

_"I won't be scared. I'm a big girl!" Tali laughed._

_"I bet you are."_

_End Flashback_

"Work is pretty much hell."

"How so?"

"Well...I can't have a team that gets their own cases, my brother's being shipped off to Iraq, and my boss just told me to go investigate my parent's murder. Answer your question? Oh, and did I mention Jenny and Leo didn't even bother to come to my birthday party?" Erika was on the verge of tears. Tali looked her cousin in the eyes.

"Fee...You Know Jenny and Leo. They probably just got caught up at work."

"But they didn't even call Tali! Didn't even wish me a happy birthday! I just thought...I..." Tali hugged Erika. She stroked her cousins hair. She'd missed having a family. Someone she could look to for support. Someone she could support when they needed it from her. Erika suddenly looked up.

"You wanna see Ziva?"

"She's here?"

"Yeah. Uncle...she's here as a liason officer." Tali's face lit up. Erika knew she loved Ziva more than anyone in the world. She started walking towards the elevator.

"Well, come on, slowpoke, I'm not gonna wait forever!" Tali ran to catch up with her. Soon, they stepped out of the elevator. Erika ran into the squad room. Tali heard her sister's voice.

"Erika! Are you alright? I was getting worried."

"You? Worried?" Before Tony and Ziva could get in an argument, Erika turned to Ziva.

"I have a surprise for you."

"For me? Why? It's not my birthday...is this one of your American holidays because if it is..." Ziva stopped when Tali walked into the bullpen.

"Talia?" Tali smiled.

"Ziva." Tears sprang into Ziva's eyes as she hugged her little sister for the first time in ten years. Tony looked shocked.

"Ziva are you...crying?" Tali looked up and saw Tony. When Ziva finally let her go she turned to him.

"And who is this?" Tony stood up and offered his hand to Tali.

"Tony DiNozzo, miss. Ziva and I work together. We're partners." Erika smiled and signed to Tali.

"**In more than one way.**" Gibbs walked in and saw Erika signing. He couldn't help but feel proud. _I taught her that._ Tali saw Erika's message and burst out laughing.

"Wait," Toy said, "You know ASL? And what did you just say?" Ziva was inwardly cursing herself for not taking the ASL course her father had offered to pay for when she was in high school. Between Gibbs, Abby, and now Erika and Tali, she would feel a lot more safe knowing ASL. Tali smirked and looked at Tony. She said nothing, but turned back to Erika.

"**How long?**"

"**About two years.**"

"**She has been dating someone for two years?** **God, what happened to my sister?**" Erika laughed.

"Tali." Gibbs put a hand on the young Israeli's shoulder. Tali threw her arms around Gibbs in a bear hug.

"Leo! How have you been? Oh, it has been such a long time! How is Jenny? Are you two still..." She shut up when she saw Gibbs's look.

"Of course you're not." Ziva looked surprised.

"You know him?"

"Of course!"

"Tali," Gibbs said again. Something in Gibbs's tone of voice made the smile disappear off of Tali's face.

"What is it?" Gibbs switched to ASL. The last thing he wanted was for Ziva to start reliving what had happened with her father two years ago.

"**There's something you should know...about your father. Why he hasn't contacted you yet.**"

"**Yes, I have been wondering about that. Is everything alright?**" Gibbs shook his head, causing Ziva to be slightly concerned.

"**Two years ago...**"

"**Why are you signing?**"

"**I do not need Ziva reliving this.**" Tali nodded. Ziva felt helpless. Something about Tali's discussion with Gibbs was obviously making her very stressed out, but she didn't know what they were talking about, so she couldn't help ease her sister's pain. She had just seen her sister for the first time in what seemed like forever. All she wanted to be was happy. Gibbs continued telling Tali the story about her father.

"**Two years ago, your father kidnapped Hannah DiLante. He is now in jail. We thought your father was Chancerry, the one who killed Tom and Leila, but it turns out he just used the pen name to try and throw us off of his trail. I have just recently received another letter from Chancerry, the real Chancerry.**" Tali started shaking. Ziva tried to comfort her sister, but it didn't work.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Tali's hands were shaking so badly she couldn't sign.

"We need your help."

"Gibbs...I have had to deal with solving family crimes for ten years now. Don't you think I have had enough?" Erika looked into Tali's eyes, pleading.

"Please Tali. We need you. I...I need you. Please."

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**Uh-oh. Big guilt trip for Little David (my personal nickname for Tali). Please excuse any language errors I may have made. I don't speak anything but English and Spanish, so forgive me if any words or phrases are wrong.**


	5. Someone You Know

**Still only own the characters who aren't from the show. So...yeah.**

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Tali sighed. Ziva looked from Gibbs to her sister to Erika and back to Gibbs again.

"Can someone please explain to me what is going on?"Gibbs didn't take his eyes off of Tali.

"We just asked your sister to help us with an investigation."

"What's that boss? We don't have a case." Tony looked confused.

"You're right. _We _don't."

"Then...Erika's team has their own case?" Erika crossed her arms.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Tali laughed.

"I...It's just..." Before Tony could explain himself Gibbs's phone rang. Tony closed his mouth as his boss went to pick it up.

"Gibbs."

"Hello, Special Agent Gibbs." The voice was disguised, but Gibbs knew who it was.

"Chancerry." Erika's eyes widened. Tali tried not to gasp. She drew Erika to her and hugged her.

"Sh...It will be alright." Tony and Ziva looked at Tali, expecting an explanation.

"Ziva...I wish I could tell you what is going on, but it isn't my place to say..."

"Tali, I am your sister. You can tell me anything..."

_Flashback_

_"Where are you going?" A 20 year old Ziva asked. Tali smiled._

_"I can not tell you, Z."_

_"And why is that?"_

_"You always tell Dad everything, and he can not know about this."_

_"About what? Tali, I am your sister. You can tell me anything."_

_"Not this, dearest sister, not this." And with that, a 16 year old Tali jumped out the window. Of course, she knew Ziva would follow her, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She walked the short distance to the market. She stood by a fruit stall, waiting for him to arrive. When he finally did she beamed, giving him a quick peck on the cheek._

_"Tali Leila David!" Tali whirled around to see her sister. Her lover turned towards her._

_"I thought you said she would not be here. Tali...TALI!" The bomb exploded..._

_End Flashback_

"Tali! Please talk to me!" Tali hadn't let go of Erika, who was trying not to sob into her cousin's chest. Erika's team was watching this, but they all stood there, not really knowing what to do. Their leader, their best friend was clinging to this woman for dear life.

"She seams so weak," Nina whispered to Kylie.

"Well when you keep things bottled up inside of you, they just hurt more when you let them out," Ari responded. Normally, Ari would have been teased mercilessly for this comment, but the moment was so intense no one could really find the energy to do so. Besides, it was true. Erika rarely shared her feelings with anyone on the team besides Kylie and Leif. To Ari, Nina, and Nick, their team leader was a mystery as much as she was a friend. Meanwhile, Gibbs was still talking to Chancerry.

"I was hoping you would recognize my voice."

"How can I do that when it's disguised." Chancerry laughed

"Observant. Now I am beginning to see why they made you a federal agent..."

"Come here and I'll show you another reason." Gibbs could almost see him smirk.

"But then we wouldn't get to enjoy our little game any longer, would we Gibbs?"

"What do you want, Chancerry?"

"Put the DiLante girl on." Gibbs looked momentarily consfused. Before his gut could tell him otherwise, he looked at Erika.

"He wants to talk to you." Erika gulped and took the phone. She could hear Gibbs, Ziva, Tali, McGee, and Tony whispering. The last thing she saw before answering the phone was the five of them disappearing into the elevator. Erika put a finger to her lips and put Chancerry on speaker.

"Hello?" Erika's voice cracked unintentionally.

"You must be Erika. Your parents told me so much about you..."

"Before you killed them," Erika spat.

"Ah yes...I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I did not kill your parents, but I know who did."

"What do you mean you didn't kill my parents? You left your calling card, in case you forgot."

"I remember. But tell me this: If I did kill your parents, why would I have left my calling card. Do you really believe I am that cocky?"

"Do you want the answer to that?"

"Ah...a cheeky girl. Just like her mother."

"Don't you talk about my mother you..."

"Erika!" Ari highly disliked it when people swore. Erika wanted to pound Ari into the ground.

"Erika, Erika, Erika. You do not have people listening in on this conversation do you?"

"So what if I do?"

"I was hoping this could be a private conversation."

"Who are you?" Erika couldn't take it any longer. She needed to find this guy, and she needed to find him at that very moment. Chancerry laughed.

"Someone you know."

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**I have chapter six written, but I want some reviews first! So hit the button...please?**


	6. We Follow Orders

**Only own the ones you haven't seen in the TV show. I just wanted to say thank to everyone who reviews my stories! (prepare for mush) You guys just help me keep going and stuff, so please keep reviewing!**

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The line went dead just as the adults were stepping out of the elevator. The squad room became a bustle of activity.

"What's going on? What did Chancerry say?"

"Ari, I want you to start..."

"Going through everyone's phone records, see if anything pops up."

"Leif I want you to see if you..."

"Can find where he made it call from. Going to be hard without a trace but it's possible."

"Kylie and Nick, help Leif. Nina, help Ari. Go to it team. Let's get this dirt-bag!"

"Uh...boss?" Gibbs turned around to look at Tony.

"I was wondering...since we don't have a case and all...if we could...you know..."

"Spit it out DiNozzo I don't have all day!"

"He wants to know if we can help Erika's team with their case," Ziva said. Gibbs looked from Erika to Tony to Ziva and back again. To Erika, Gibbs signed.

"**Are you ok if my team helps out?**"

"**N****ot them. I don't want them to know what's happening, what happened.**"

"**After all Ziva and Tony went through for you, you still can't trust them?**"

"**What did they go through for me? Finding out they love each other? Dating each other? Being happy?**"

"**In case you haven't noticed, your cousin has been awfully emotional lately.**"

"**So? What does that have to do with anything? She's got PMS or something.**" Tali burst out laughing and joined the conversation.

"**Trust me, when my sister has PMS, she gets a lot more emotional than she is now.** **I think the boss man here meant she's a little extra touchy about our dad.**" Gibbs nodded.

"**Ok, but still, Ziva doesn't need to know what happened with my parents. Please you guys, I'm not ready to share that yet.**" Gibbs and Tali nodded.

"Now that you guys have had your very exclusive conversation, can we help?"

"No, DiNozzo, I need you working on our case."

"But we don't have a case boss."

"We do now." Gibbs hoped Tony would catch his drift. Tony nodded and sat down at his desk.

"Right." Then, Leif said something that got everyone's attention.

"Shit. Fee, you might wanna take a look at this." Erika walked over to where Leif, Kylie, and Nick were standing.

"We traced where Chancerry made his call from. We found out that he made it from a warehouse in D.C."

"Ok, so?"

"So, the warehouse belongs to Merill Airlines." Gibbs looked up sharply.

"Erika, this is getting too messy. It's becoming too personal for you. Let my team take this case." Erika stood up and looked Gibbs in the eye.

"It's just as personal for me as it is for you."

"They're your parents."

"And you knew them longer than I did. Please Gibbs. You took down my uncle, let me find the man who did this. Besides," she smirked, "I have a lead." Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but I want to know everything...anything."

"I would tell you anyway Gibbs. They were your best friends."

_Flashback_

"_Well, we finally did it Jethro. We graduated!"_

"_Yup! Hey, what do you say we grab Leila and Jen and head out to celebrate."_

"_Uh-oh."_

"_What?"_

"_It's just...your idea of celebrating usually involves hangovers."_

"_Yeah pretty much, come on!"_

"_You are a crazy man, Jethro. A very crazy man."_

_End Flashback_

Everyone was staring at Gibbs.

"Boss are you ok?"

"Yeah, I was just remembering something. Leif, do you have the number that was used to make the call."

"Yeah, but it didn't have a name, why?"

"Run it against the graduates of the United States Naval Academy."

"What year?"

"1978."

"Leo..."

"Erika, my gut is telling me something on this one. I think someone we went to school with may be Chancerry."

"I know..."

"Don't question me on this Erika, let me help."

"I wasn't going to. What I was going to say is that it might be more helpful if we could borrow Tali for awhile."

"Borrow? Why would you borrow her from Gibbs?"

"Come on Z, use your head! I'm on your team!"

"You are kidding!" Tali shook her head.

"'Kay...moving on," Nick said, "the call came in from the airline company about ten minutes ago, but since it was around 6:00, the workers must have been changing shifts. So we can call the airline company and get them to tell us all the workers working on those two shifts." Erika shook her head.

"Not going to work."

"Why not ?"

"First of all, everyone who works at Merill Airlines is a complete jerk. Second of all, it would take forever to interrogate a crew of that size. Merill has thousands of employees working a single shift. Do you have any idea how long it would take to interrogate thousands of people Nicky?" Leif snorted.

"Stuff it Leafy boy. I have one word for you: Cardigan."

"Hey! That was not my fault! That was totally and entirely Nina."

"Uh huh..."

"That was not me!"

"Yeah it was, you practically jumped me!"

"O-k," Tony said, "A little too much information." McGee was looking at Leif and Nina in horror. Leif turned to McGee.

"Don't ask."

"Hey," Erika yelled, "how is this helping us solve the case?" Everyone looked down in shame. Finally, Kylie broke the awkward silence.

"Fee, I'll take Leif and Nina and go down to Abby's."

"Less thinking more doing," Erika responded,"Ari, go back to Ducky. See if he can go back over their autopsy reports. Nick, go with her and bring me up a copy of both reports." Upon seeing Gibbs's stare, she corrected her order.

"Two copies of both reports." Nick nodded and followed the rest of his teammates. Once they were all in the elevator, Nick turned to Kylie.

"What are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"About Erika. You should know more than anyone how much this is killing her to do, Ky." Kylie took a deep breath. She was the team's senior field agent. Kylie put on her game face. They were actual federal agents now. People were counting on them to do their job.

"We follow Erika's orders." The elevator doors opened and Kylie stepped out, leaving the rest of the team staring amazed after her.

* * *

**Coming up:**

**What happened to Erika's parents?**

**How do they know Gibbs and Jen?  
**


	7. Last Words

**So here's the story of what happened with Erika's parents. The whole Dan incident will be explained later. I would like to dedicate this chapter to the following people: Elyad, Mrs.Scott323, and S'Dot Yam who have been constantly reviewing. I would also like to thank S'Dot Yam for reviewing on almost every chapter of The Mini Team. Ok, thank yous over, back to the story (by the way, the characters from the show still aren't mine).**

* * *

As soon as Erika's team and Gibbs left (to go see the Director), Ziva turned to her cousin.

"Erika Ziva DiLante, tell me what is going on right now."

"Put simply, the man who killed my parents just called Gibbs. We're trying to find where he is."

"Who were your parents," Tony asked. Erika rolled her eyes.

"Why does it even matter? It's not your case."

"Erika, I am your legal guardian. Tell me!"

"Wait, hold on a second. Ziva is your legal guardian?" Erika put her hand on her forehead.

"Ok...I have to explain some things...to everyone. Can we sit down or something?" Everyone got a chair and sat in a circle in the middle of the bullpen. Erika took a deep breath.

"I guess I better start from the beginning. A lot of this I was told by either Jenny or Leo..."

"_You are a crazy man Jethro. A very crazy man." Jethro just flashed Tom a smile. Suddenly, someone covered Jethro's eyes with their hands. Jethro inhaled deeply. It was a mixture of Jasmine and Flowers._

"_Leila. I know it's you." Jethro smiled and turned around to face her. She stepped closer to him._

"_Maybe there's a reason you passed after all." She kissed him._

"_Oh please, you two get a room!" Jethro and Leila broke apart and looked at Jenny._

"_Oh yeah," Jethro said, "Like you and Tom don't do it all the time."_

"Wait a minute," Tony interrupted, "So Gibbs was dating your mom and Jenny was dating your Dad?"

"It's confusing," Erika said, "I'll explain later. Now, back to the story."

_Tom just smiled. He took Jenny's hand and all four of them left the college. About a month later, both couples had split up. The four of them didn't really talk anymore until they went to NCIS training in 1983._

"Hold on," Ziva said, "I thought your mother worked for Mossad."

"She did."

"But then..."

"Before she went to college. You should know, Ziva, they hire people young." Ziva nodded.

"Now, could you guys please stop interrupting me, I'd like to finish this story before the end of the century."

_When they started their training, they found that they couldn't help but be friends again. All four of them excelled at their training. The only flaw any of them had was that Jenny threw up while observing the autopsy. The Director was so impressed, he put them with the best agent he knew: Mike Franks. For a long time, everything got pretty routine. Then, Tom and Leila announced they were getting married, and that Leila was pregnant._

"_Wow. Where did this come from? I thought you two hated each other," Jenny said. Tom and Leila smiled._

"_Turns out we were both just trying to cover up how we really felt."_

"Sound like anyone you know," McGee said smiling. Tali smiled too.

"Who," Tony asked. Everyone else just rolled their eyes and Erika continued her story.

_That night after work, the four friends went out to dinner to celebrate their engagement. The four of them sat around the table. They were all laughing, remembering some joke one of them had told years ago._

"_God Tom! And to think I always thought I would end up with her," Jethro said. He clapped Tom on the back. Toms eyes were sparkling. Leila, who was sitting next to him, just looked at Jenny and shook her head._

"_And to think we've got the rest of our working days to spend with each other," Jenny said. Tom and Leila exchanged a look. Jethro immediately became concerned._

"_What? What is it?"Leila looked around at her friends and at her fiancé._

"_I'm going back to Mossad." The smiles fell off of Jenny and Jethro's faces._

"_What? When?" Jethro voiced the questions both he and Jenny had in their minds. However, he left a very important one out._

"_After the baby is born. So about a month."_

"_Wait, did you say your brother?" Leila nodded. Jethro could tell she was trying not to cry._

"_Yes. He's just become the Deputy Director of Mossad. That's why I need to go back. He needs me there." An eerie silence fell across the table._

"_You're leaving us?" The ice in Jethro's voice was clear. Leila looked up, suddenly._

"_Why do you say that?"_

"_You know you're not coming back, Leila. You said so yourself: There is no after Mossad..."_

"_Just breaks, I know. But that does not mean I am leaving you."_

"_Then what do you call it? Temporary leave? Only lasts a lifetime!" Leila stood up, getting angry._

"_If you think I want to leave you Jethro then you are sadly mistaken. If you think I want to leave then you do not know me as well as I thought you did. If that is the case, then maybe this is for the best." Leila stormed out of the restaurant. Tom looked up at Jethro and Jenny and cleared his throat. Jethro stared at him with ice in his eyes._

"_Why didn't you tell us Tom?"_

"_Leila insisted I keep it a secret. You know how close the four of us are..."_

"_Were."_

"_What?"_

"_I doubt we'll ever see Leila again. You will, and maybe Jenny, but to her I might as well be dead." Jenny smacked him in the back of the head._

"_Don't say that. You still have a month to fix things Jethro." Normally Jenny would have been right, but Jethro didn't show up when Erika and Charlie were born a month prematurely. He was busy working on a boat. Not the one he had been building in memory of Diane, but a small model of a boat. He also failed to show up to see Leila and Tom off on their flight to Israel._

"Why was your father going with her," Ziva asked.

"He was being reassigned to Iraq. The flight was stopping there as well. They used a private airline company to take them to Baghdad and Tel Aviv. Can you guess what this company may have been named?" Tony and Ziva looked confused, but McGee put the pieces together.

"Merill Airlines."

"Why does it matter what airline company they used?"

"If you would let me finish telling the story, you will find out."

_Jenny was sitting in the office when Franks came into the bullpen._

"_Where is Gibbs?" Jenny noticed the serious expression on her boss's face._

"_Uh...Not sure sir, why?" Mike turned to Jenny with a sad expression on his face._

"_Tom and Leila's plane crashed while they were flying over the Atlantic. Apparently the pilot was an Al Qaeda operative sent to kill them...I'm sorry Jenny they're both dead." Jenny felt like she was going to die. She prayed that she would wake up and find it was all just a bad dream. She took a deep breath and braced herself to do what she knew she had to do: call Jethro._

_Jethro was working on Diane when his phone rang. Normally he would have let it go, but his gut was telling him to answer the phone._

"_Hello?" He heard sniffing on the other end. Whoever had called him was crying._

"_Jethro I...they're dead."_

"_Who?"_

"_Tom and Leila. They're both dead." Jethro inhaled sharply._

"_How?"_

"_They're plane crashed. Pilot was Al Qaeda." Jenny broke down. Jethro didn't know what to say. All he could think about was the last thing he had said to Leila before she died._

* * *

**Well, there ya go. Now you know what happened. Coming up we'll find out what happened with Dan and who Chancerry is. Trust me, it's not who you think...**


	8. Fingerprints

**Hello again. Disclaimer's in pretty much ever other chapter so I'm not really gonna bother. Sorry I haven't updated for a couple of days, but here it is.**

* * *

"What the heck's with her," Nick asked Ari when Kylie had left the elevator. Ari shrugged. Nick continued talking.

"I mean, it's just weird. Kylie's normally so happy and peppy, but now she's so...so..."

"Uptight," Ari offered.

"Yeah."

"Nick, she and Erika have been best friends since the first grade. I think some of Erika's anxiety is starting to rub off on her. I mean, I don't think she ever knew Erika's parents, but Erika must have spoken of them often enough so that Kylie felt like she'd known them forever."

"That still doesn't explain why she suddenly decided to be Miss Super Senior Field Agent. I mean, if anything, Senior Field Agents are less serious than other members of the team. I mean, look at Tony!"

"Not all Senior Field Agents are like Tony, Nick." When the elevator doors finally opened, Ari and Nick walked into autopsy. Ari smiled when she heard Ducky's familiar ramblings as she walked into the room.

"...but my mother always forgets to...ah! Ari! How nice to see you. I see you brought Nicholas with you. How are you my boy?"

"I'm good Duckie. Look, Erika needs a favor."

"And what would that be?"

"She wants you to pull her parent's autopsy reports and give her two copies of both autopsies."

"Why?"

"For some reason our team has been assigned to look into her parents' deaths."

"Oh dear. All right. Why don't you two stay here. I will only be a moment." The two of them nodded and sat down on the edge of an empty autopsy table.

"What the heck was that," Leif demanded of Kylie when they got off the elevator.

"I'm the Senior Field Agent. Erika's not doing too well, so I need to be a leader."

"Erika's fine."

"How can you say she's fine? She's investigating her parents' death. Wouldn't you be in pretty awful shape if you had to do that?"

"Me, yes, but Erika's..."

"NINA!" Leif was interrupted by Abby running out of the lab and giving Nina a huge hug.

"Uh...Abby?"

"Oh! Hi little peoples," Abby said when she saw Kylie and Leif.

"Uh...ok? Look, Abby, we need you to go over something."

"Ok, sure, what do you need me to do?"

"Will you go over the forensics of Tom and Leila DiLante's murder. It's in our cold case files."

"Ok...why?" Kylie, Leif, and Nina just looked at each other.

"Right, got it, touchy subject," Abby said and walked into the lab. Kylie and Leif started to walk back to the elevator, but Nina didn't follow them.

"Come on, Nina. What are you waiting for?"

"I'll stay down here and help Abby. That's what Erika would want. Besides, she always finds something like two seconds after whoever asked her to do it leaves so then it's really annoying."

"Nina that's..."

"Guys," Abby called from inside her lab, "you might want to see this!" Everyone ran into the lab.

"What is it Abby?"

"I thought you said Erika's parents were dead."

"They are why?"

"Because Leila David's prints were lifted from numerous crime scenes in Israel."

"That's not surprising, she worked for Mossad."

"But guys...they're from last year."

* * *

**Sorry the chapter's so short. I just had to end there. By the way, next update might not be for a few days.**


	9. I Love You

**Sorry it's been forever! I hope I don't disappoint you. This chapter is a little confusing.**

* * *

Ari and Nick walked back into the squad room. Erika snapped her head up the moment they got out of the elevator.

"You have them?" Ari handed one clipboard to Erika and one to Gibbs. They sat in silence for a while, both team leaders reading the report.

"Leo, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Gibbs looked at the report.

"Uh-huh."

"What do you we do?" At that moment, Leif, Nina, and Kylie sprinted into the bullpen.

"Erika, you'll never believe what Abby found." Erika stared at the three agents for awhile.

"Do I have to say a magic word or something?"

"No, sorry," Nina said. Normally, Erika would have scolded Nina for apologizing (she loved Gibbs's rules), but this time she just turned to Kylie.

"Kylie, what did Abby find?" Kylie looked at her best friend.

"Your mother's fingerprints on some crimes scenes in Israel." Erika knew better than to ask why this was strange.

"A point would be nice." Gibbs smiled. Every time he saw Erika in action he couldn't help but think she was so much like her parents.

"They're from last year, Erika. Last year. Do you know what that means?" Erika looked at Gibbs.

"Leo, that and the autopsy report is starting to make me think..." She trailed off.

"Me too."

"What was in the autopsy report," Nina asked. Erika and Gibbs didn't say anything, so she looked at Ari.

"I didn't notice anything unusual." Leif snorted.

"That's a shock." Ari turned around and punched her brother in the arm.

"Ow! That really really hurt," Leif said sarcastically. Erika came up behind the siblings and slapped them on the back of their heads.

"Hey! This has just turned into a missing persons case. Kylie and Nick, go down to Abby's lab and start tracking my mother's cell phone."

"But how do we know her number," Nick asked. Erika turned around and glared at him.

"We're going to find out what it is," Nick said. He and Kylie started going towards the elevator. Gibbs tapped McGee on the shoulder.

"Go. Assist." McGee got up and ran after the younger agents. Once he caught up to them, Kylie turned towards him.

"How are we going to do this?"

"I have no idea." After the three agents left, Ari turned to Erika.

"Erika, please tell us what is going on!" Erika swallowed. She suddenly felt dizzy. She was vaguely aware of someone leading her to a chair.

_Flashback to one year ago._

_"Erika, you know I love you right," Dan asked her. Erika was shocked._

_"Wow. Dan I..."_

_"I love you Erika, please understand that." Erika beamed and kissed Dan lightly on the lips._

_"I understand perfectly. I love you too." Dan took Erika's hand and stared off into the distance._

_"Dan, is everything ok?"_

_"I don't know how to tell you this Erika..."_

_"Just say it Dan, you know I'll find out anyway." Dan smiled sadly._

_"Yeah, you probably would." Erika got even more concerned._

_"Dan, what's wrong?" Dan's bright blue eyes were suddenly filled with tears._

_"It's cancer...lukemia. They've given me six months...maybe less." This took awhile for it to sink it. Once it had, Erika broke down._

_"No Dan! First my parents, now you? I can't do this!"_

_"Shh, shh. Erika it will be ok. I'll always be with you. And I want you to have this...to remember me by. Dan produced a small necklace with the letter D dangling in the middle. Erika started crying again._

_"Dan, I could never forget you. I love you." That was the last thing she said to him before he died._

_End Flashback_

* * *

**Again, sorry for the confusingness of it. Well, I better be getting to sleep. Please review!**


	10. Leila

**Ok, here it is guys...the moment you've all been waiting for! Please review!**

* * *

Erika had never shown anyone the necklace. It was a topic she really didn't want brought up around the office. Gibbs knew, he knew everything, but Erika couldn't stand the idea of anyone else knowing. When she woke up, she saw Leif standing by her, a concerned look on his stony features.

"Guys," he called when he saw Erika's eyes were open. When no one turned around he said it louder.

"Guys!" Nina and Ari turned around.

"What," they said at the same time. That's when Erika decided to sit up. The two girls gasped, and Nina ran to give Erika a hug.

"Nina," Erika wheezed, "you've been spending way too much time with Abby." Everyone laughed. That's when Erika noticed who was missing.

"Where's Leo?"

"Went down to the lab. Apparently the others found something. We wanted to stay here and make sure you were ok."

"They found something and you didn't think to wake me up?" Erika stood up angrily and stormed to the elevator. As the doors closed she yelled back.

"You better have something too by the time I get back." When the elevator doors opened she could hear Abby's music blasting. She stormed into the lab where Abby, Kylie, Nick, and McGee were all crowded around a computer. They seemed to be focusing on it. Gibbs was standing a few feet behind them, talking with Tali.

"Did no one think to wake me up? In case you haven't forgotten, this is my mother we're trying to find here!" Everyone turned around at the sound of her voice. Gibbs stepped up. He didn't address Erika, but stared at her while addressing Tali.

"David."

"Leo?"

"Take Erika to the address we just found. See where that leads. I have a feeling Leila will probably want to see you too."

"What address?" Erika was very obviously confused.

"Will someone please explain to me what is going on? Did you find her? Did you find anything?"

"Yes we found something," Tali said, "now come on." She took Erika's hand and led her to the elevator. When they got to the car, Tali turned to face her cousin. When she didn't say anything, Erika snapped.

"What?"

"You certainly have grown up too fast, yaldah g'dolah."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you have to stop acting like such an adult."

"I'm a federal agent, Tali. I just found out that my mother, my idol, the person that I thought was dead is actually alive. So forgive me for trying to find her, Tali! I guess I'm just..."

"Shh," Tali said while wrapping her arms around a now crying Erika.

"I'm just so confused. Why would she leave me?"

"I don't know Erika, I really don't know." After a brief moment of silence, Tali pulled away.

"Come on, let's go find your mom." They got in the car and drove to the address Abby found. Neither cousin recognized it, but they walked up to the door anyway. Erika took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Soon, a woman came to the door. Erika and Tali both froze. The three of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Finally, Tali broke the silence.

"Ima?" Erika couldn't help but stare at her aunt. She looked like an older version of Ziva.

"Tahlia?" Tali nodded.

"I thought you were dead. I just spent years bringing down the Hammas cell that killed you!" Tali's mother looked at her daughter.

"Yes, your father told me about that. I was so proud of you." That's when her eyes fell on Erika.

"And who did you bring with you, Tahlia?" Erika stepped towards her aunt.

"I'm your niece..." Erika paused, realizing she didn't even know her aunt's name.

"Ariel. And who's child are you, Jacob's?" Erika shook her head.

"Leila's." Ariel's eyes widened.

"Oh my Goodness. Leila! Leila, you have to get out here!" Shortly after, a woman appeared behind Ariel. She had short black hair and deep, chocolate brown eyes. When she saw Tali, she grew excited.

"Tali! How nice to see you! Who have you brought with you today?" Erika stepped forward.

"You don't remember me?" Leila shook her head.

"I'm sorry, n...oh my God. Erika?" Erika nodded and stepped forward, hugging her mother. Leila hugged her back.

"Why'd you do it Mom? Why did you leave us?" Leila buried her face in her daughter's shoulder.

"I don't know honey, I don't know." Erika relaxed into her mother's embrace. Just for this moment, she needed to know she wasn't going to go away.

* * *

**Wow, I'm a sap. Well, hope you liked it. I figured that when Leila "died" Erika would have been really little, but old enough so that she could remember her parents. Anyway, review please...maybe?**


	11. Sneaking and Rings

**Well I'm back, and hoping to put chapter 12 in soon too. So stay tuned!**

* * *

Tali and Ariel watched this mother-daughter exchange. Then, Tali turned to Ariel.

"And why did you do it, Ima?"

"It was a mission..."

"And you couldn't let us know you were alive after the mission was over? Ima, you don't know what your death did to Ziva." Ariel's eyes widened.

"She's not..."

"No, but she came very close. She blamed herself for your death Ima. If Aba hadn't convinced her to join Mossad, Ziva would probably be dead by now." Ariel looked away from her daughter.

"I'm sorry, I never knew." Tali nodded.

"It's ok. I just thought you should know...for when you see her." Ariel's head snapped back to Tali.

"Who?"

"Ziva, of course."

"Tali, I won't go back to Israel..."

"You don't have to. Ziva's here, in America."

"How?"

"She's working as a Mossad liason for NCIS." This got Leila's attention.

"Not..."

"Yes it's that NCIS. And before you ask Doda, they're both still there." Leila stared at Tali.

"How are they?"

"They're doing fine. Leo has his own team now..."

"God help the souls that are on it. I'm guessing Jenny is his senior field agent?" Erika and Tali both smiled and answered at the same time.

"Nope." Leila looked from her daughter to her niece and back again.

"Then where's Jenny working? Not still under Franks I hope."

"I hate to interrupt this love fest," Ariel said, "but I would really like to see my daughter again, and I'm not getting any younger." Leila nodded.

"I'll get my purse." When the two of them were ready, they piled into Tali's car and started towards NCIS.

"So," Leila said with her arm around Erika, "who is Jenny working for?" The two of them were sitting in the back of the car. Erika smiled.

"Herself, I suppose."

"I thought you said they were both still there."

"They are." Leila stared at Erika.

"Jenny's the director now." Leila's eyes widened. She laughed.

"You're kidding!" Erika shook her head.

"Nope." Leila nodded.

"Good for her. So what's Jethro up to these days?"

"He's got his own team, and Ziva's on it." Ariel turned around.

"She is? And she's still alive?" Erika looked at her aunt.

"You know him?" Ariel shook her head.

"No, but your mother told me a lot about him." Erika turned and stared at her mother. Leila cleared her throat.

"We were good friends." Erika laughed.

"You can save that stuff Mom, I already know you two were more than that." Leila blushed a deep red.

"He tell you that?" Erika shook her head.

"Jenny." Leila laughed again.

"Of course she did. I can't wait to see her again."

"Well here we are," Tali said. Leila snapped her head up, and her eyes softened when she saw the building.

"Still looks the same."

"What," Tali said, "you expect it to be completely different?"

Leila smiled.

"So did I hear Ziva's working here now?" Erika and Tali nodded, smiling. Even Erika knew that Leila had a soft spot for Ziva. Even though he mother had faked her death when she was really young, she could remember he mother telling her to be like Ziva. They walked into the elevator and rode up to the squad room. Leila went to turn left, but Erika stopped her and pointed to the right.

"This way. Let me and Tali go in first." The two younger women disappeared into the squad room for a few minutes. Soon after, the excited, yelling back to Ziva and Tony (who were the only ones in the squad room).

"We're going down to the lab! See you in 5 minutes!" Somehow they managed to get Leila and Ariel down to the lab without anyone seeing. When they arrived, they were shocked to find Abby alone.

"Hey Abs," Erika said, "where's everyone else?"

"Out doing something, not really sure what." She turned around and saw Leila and Ariel. She looked at Erika and Tali. Tali smiled and nudged Ariel forward slightly.

"Abby, this is my mother, Ariel David. Ima, this is Abby Scuito. She's the forensic scientist here at NCIS." The two women shook hands before Abby turned to Leila and gave her a hug. Leila didn't seem to know what to do. She patted Abby awkwardly on the back.

"You're Mrs. DiLante, right?" Leila nodded slowly.

"Oh my God, Erika's told me so much about you! I mean, I don't really know how she remembers so much cause she was so little when it happened, but some people can just remember lots of details from when they were little. I read this thing once where..."

"Abby," Erika yelled. The Goth jumped and looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"We're here because you need to disguise these two."

"Why?"

"We want to surprise Ziva," Leila said. Abby nodded.

"Ok." After awhile, Abby finished her work. Leila was wearing a short blonde wig and blue contacts. Ariel was also blonde, but her eyes were green.

"Thanks Abby," Tali called as they left the lab.

"Any time Little David!" Tali rolled her eyes as they stepped back into the elevator. This time, when they got off, they went right into the squad room. Ziva and Tony looked up when they saw the two guests.

"Uh...Erika," Tony said.

"Yeah?"

"Mind introducing me and Zee-vah to your friends." Ariel and Leila tried (and failed) to keep their laughter in when they heard Tony's pronunciation of Ziva's name.

"Don't ask," Tali said.

"Tony, this is..." Erika hesitated. They stupidly hadn't thought up names for Leila and Ariel. Thankfully, Leila took over.

"Hannah Sweet," she said, shaking Tony's hand.

"April Sweet," Ariel said. Tony looked between the two women.

"You two are sisters." Leila and Ariel nodded. Ziva stood up and shook the women's hands as well. Tony turned to Ziva.

"Ziva, why don't you go see if Duckie needs any help?" Ziva looked at him, a confused expression in her eyes, but she could tell Tony was getting here out of there for some reason, so she went. As soon as Tony was sure she was gone, he turned to Leila and Ariel.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to have a private conversation with Agents DiLante and David."

"Actually Tony, whatever you want to say to us you can say in front of these two." Tony pursed his lips.

"Umm...ok?" He seemed to hesitate now.

"Well come on, DiNozzo, spit it out!" Tony sighed.

"I want to propose to Ziva."

* * *

**Ooh! So Tony wants to propose! How will Ariel and Leila react? And Erika and Tali? Most importantly, will Ziva say yes? Review!**


	12. Daddy Dearest

**Hey guys! I know, it's been forever since I updated, but I made up for it with a huge twist at the end of the chapter. Something no one knows...or expected (at least I hope they didn't expect)...Anyway, here we go**

* * *

Leila and Ariel turned to stare wide eyed at their daughters.

"Propose?" Ariel whipped off her wig and took out her contacts.

"I refuse to allow this! I do not even know this man!"

"And who the hell are you to say I can't marry her," Tony challenged.

"She's her Mom," Erika and Tali said at the same time. Tony opened and shut his mouth several times.

"Close your mouth, DiNozzo, its unattractive." Erika couldn't help but notice her mother breathe heavier as Gibbs entered the room. Tony then turned to Leila.

"Are you wearing a disguise too?" Leila, still staring at Gibbs, took off her wig and removed her contacts. Gibbs stared, dumbfounded.

"Shalom Jethro," Leila said, kissing his cheek.

"Leila," Gibbs breathed. Tony looked between the two, trying to figure out what's going on.

"And who are you," Tony asked. Leila turned and smiled at him.

"Leila DiLante. I'm Erika's mother." Tony looked from Erika to Leila and back again. Gibbs was still staring at Leila.

"Jen," he suddenly yelled. Leila's head snapped up. Jenny came running out of her office. and looked over the balcony.

"Jethro, how many times have I told you...Oh my God!" Jenny sprinted down the stairs and threw herself at Leila, giving her old friend a hug to rival Abby's.

"Woah. Jenny, calm down there!"

"Uh...I hate to break this up, but Ziva's mother is here, and she's giving me a death glare right now and I'd really like it to stop." Everyone laughed at Tony's comment. Leila put a hand on Gibbs's back.

"Why don't you say we go get a candy bar? For old times sake?" And with that, Leila, Jenny, and Gibbs all walked out of the squad room. Ariel was still staring at Tony.

"Look, I'm sure you are a very nice man, but I do not know you, therefore I do not trust you."

"I trust him," Tali blurted.

"Me too," Erika said, "and I know Ziva would trust him with her life. Plus Doda, she loves him."

"And how would you know?"

"Well, he and Ziva have both been living in our house for two years." Ariel looked at Tony.

"You've already moved in with my daughter?"

"Mrs. David, you have to understand. I love your daughter with every bone in my body. I would fight to the death to have one day with her. She's the love of my life, and I really, really want to marry her." Ariel just kept staring for awhile, but then she cleared her throat.

"Very well, you may marry her." Tony beamed.

"Thank you, whoo hoo!" At that moment, Ziva walked back into the squad room.

"Look Tony I know you...Ima?" Ziva stopped dead when she saw her mother. Ariel beamed.

"Yes it's me, Ziva." Ziva threw herself at her mother, much like Jenny had done to Leila. Tony watched this exchange. Ziva looked at Tali.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just found out like ten minutes ago!" When Ziva finally released her death grip on Ariel, she turned to Erika.

"Leif just called. He wanted to see how you were feeling."

"Who's Leif," Ariel asked.

"He's a guy," Erika said. Ariel arched her eyebrows.

"No! It's not like that! He's on my team!"

"Your team?"

"Yeah! I have my own team here."

"Wow, impressive."

"Hey Zee-vah," Tony said, sliding an arm around her waist. Ziva looked at her mother and blushed.

"Yeah?"

"What's for dinner tonight, I'm starving!"

"You're always starving Tony."

"I know, but your food is really really good." Ziva turned around to look Tony in the eye. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"You're such a fuck up."

"Suck up." Ziva smiled.

"You just love correcting my English, don't you?" They kissed again.

"Well..."

"David! DiNozzo! Stop making out in my squad room." The two snapped apart. Tony walked over to Gibbs.

"Hey boss, can I ask you something?" Gibbs nodded and Tony led him out of the squad room. Ziva stared after him and sighed. She then looked at Ariel.

"I know he's not Israeli, he's not even Jewish, but he makes me happy, Ima." Ariel smiled.

"He already has my blessing." Ziva beamed.

"Really?" Ariel nodded.

"He is willing to fight for you. That much is obvious. And he has not done anything to make me angry...yet." Ziva hugged her mother again.

"Thank you Ima." Erika cleared her throat. Ziva and Ariel looked at her.

"I'm just wondering where...she went." Ariel looked around.

"She's coming this way. Ziva, we have a surprise for you." Ziva looked up.

"What?" Leila appeared in the entrance to the squad room. Ziva gasped.

"Leila!"

"I see you met my daughter."

"She's been living with her, Leila," Ariel said. Leila looked at me, and I nodded. Suddenly, all the women burst out laughing, happy that they were all back together. That's when Tony came back into the squad room.

"So what do you say we all go out for drinks, to celebrate Leila and Ariel's return!" Erika turned to Gibbs and stared at him. Leila burst out laughing.

"She looks like you, Jethro!"

"Yeah, well she has been working under me for a while now."

"Yeah but that's only because _someone_ didn't trust me enough to operate by myself," Erika said angrily. Suddenly, all the anger, all the disappointment came flooding back.

"Erika," Leila said, "why are you so angry all of a sudden?"

"It's not all of a sudden Mom! It's been building up!"

"Are you mad because I faked my death?"

"No! I'm not mad a you! Though I am wondering why you left me, but I'm mad at the only two people who have ever broken a promise to me!" Leila stared at her daughter.

"Erika, who are you mad at?"

"I'm mad at the guy who missed my birthday and is pretending like nothing happened. I'm mad at the woman who tried to send my brother to Iraq. I'm so angry at you two, and hurt! I never thought either of you would betray me like that, but I guess I was wrong! I don't know who I can trust anymore if I can't trust Leo and Jenny!" And with that, Erika stormed towards the elevator. Leila stared straight ahead, dumbfounded. Then, she turned on Jenny.

"What does she mean the woman who tried to send her brother to Iraq?"

"Leila, there was a reason for it..."

"What? What possible reason could you have for sending my son to Iraq?" Jenny swallowed and looked at Leila. She opened her mouth to explain, but Leila attacked Gibbs before she could speak.

"And Jethro! Erika thinks of you like another father! In fact...there's something you should know about Erika."

"I think I know more about Erika than you do, Leila."

"That may be true, but this fact you don't know. It...has to do with why I faked my death. When our plane crashed...there was one spare parachute. Tom insisted I take it...to save the babies. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Even though they weren't his..."

"What," Gibbs snapped, "Leila, what did you just say?" Leila looked down for an instant, but then looked back into GIbbs's eyes.

"Erika and Charlie...they're your children."

* * *

**Did you see it coming? I thought it was a pretty good twist, but hey, I could be wrong... Anyway, leave me some love...please?**


	13. Tony's Star

**About time I updated huh? lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. You know I love reviews so do I even have to ask anymore?**

* * *

Gibbs stared at Leila. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"What?"

"I didn't tell you before I left because...well...you didn't seem very happy with me."

"They're my kids? Dammit, Leila!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the elevator.

"What is it with everyone and the elevator," Ariel asked.

When they got to the elevator, Gibbs switched the power off. He stared at Leila for a minute.

"Jethro, what do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me why you left...why you really left." Leila sighed.

"Tom...he...didn't want you finding out. He said he was afraid we would start something again. He..."

"Should we?" Leila stopped talking and looked up at Gibbs.

"Excuse me?"

"Should we start something again." He took a step towards her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"I've missed you, Leila." Leila opened and closed her mouth a couple of times.

"Jethro...look. It's been...it's been too long. I don't think we know each other anymore." Gibbs moved even closer to her.

"I think it's time..." Leila had to pause to catch her breath.

"I think it's time we moved on and...got on with our lives."

"Why," he asked. Leila looked down.

"I can't deal with a relationship right now Jethro, I'm still hiding from my brother..."

"Your brothers in jail."

"What? Why?" Gibbs sighed.

"He kidnapped your daughter."

"Erika?"

"No. Hannah. Is she mine too?" Leila shook her head.

"No. Just the twins. And you missed your childrens' sixteenth birthday..."

"Shit! No wonder Erika hates me! God I'm such a bastard!"

"No, no. Jethro listen to me...I think we need to talk."

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

"No. I mean in private." Gibbs smirked. Leila punched him in the chest.

"Stop it! That's not what I meant!"

"Fine. I'll meet you at my place at six."

"Six? That's a little early for you, isn't it Jethro?" Gibbs didn't reply, but turned the elevator back on. Leila sighed and faced the rest of the ride up. When they arrived back in the squad room, Erika's team had arrived.

"Who are all these people," Leila demanded. The whole team turned around.

"Oh...my...God," Kylie breathed. Leila looked at Kylie.

"And who are you?" Kylie ignored Leila and looked at Erika.

"Erika is that..."

"Yeah." Leila turned her attention to her daughter.

"Erika, listen..."

"No, I'm not mad at you Mom," Erika said as she looked up at Gibbs. Gibbs sighed.

"Erika..."

"Erika," someone yelled. Everyone turned around to see Charlie. Leila looked at her daughter again.

"Well you certainly are popular." Charlie then looked at Leila and his mouth widened.

"No way," he whispered.

"Uh-huh," Erika said. Charlie looked at her and started signing.

**It's really Mom?**

**Yes.**

**But...**

**She faked it. I don't know why.**

**Wow.**

**Yeah, and I think she's got the hots for Gibbs**

**What?**

**Yeah, she did the whole high school girl with a crush thing when he walked in the room.**

**Wow. What happened?**

**Huh?**

**To our mom.**

**Who knows,** Gibbs signed. Erika and Charlie looked at each other.

**How long have you been listening to us?**

**Long enough.** Gibbs winked, and Charlie cleared his throat.

"Erika, who is this? Is he your boyfriend?" Erika and Charlie's mouths dropped. They both turned bright red as Erika's whole team started laughing.

"Oh, and you said Leif's reaction at the thought of us being a couple was good," Ari said.

"Oh shut up, Ari!"

"What," Leila asked, "did I say something wrong? Because if he's your boyfriend, it's my job to make sure I scare the crap out of him...no offense." Charlie groaned.

"God! I am so not Dan!" Charlie then realized what he said, turned around, and gave his sister a hug.

"I'm so sorry Erika, I wasn't thinking." Erika nodded into Charlie's shoulder.

"Are you ever thinking?" The twins shared a smile.

"I really am sorry."

"I know." Leila walked up to Charlie and put her hands on her hips.

"Now now, you do know I have rules. Don't act desperate, she deserves better than that, and no sex until you're married..." Erika started coughing and Charlie made a face.

"Excuse me while I go throw up."

"Same," Erika muttered, "Mom! He's not my boyfriend!" Leila looked around at the people surrounding her. The team was cracking up, and even Gibbs was smirking.

"Then how do you know my daughter?" Charlie looked at Leila.

"You don't know who I am?"

"Um...I'm sorry no." Charlie hung his head.

"Well you may not remember me, but I remember you." Leila stared at Charlie confusedly. Charlie sighed.

"I'm your son." Charlie smiled his cocky grin that he obviously inherited from his father. Leila stared at him for a second then hugged Charlie.

"Charlie."

"Yup." Someone cleared their throat, and Leila let go of Charlie.

"Did you come for something Charlie," Erika asked.

"Um yeah...but I kinda forget what it was."

"Wow. Good job."

"I know, right?" Suddenly, Gibbs spoke.

"Go home, all of you. It's been a long day." He walked up to Leila.

"And I'll see _you_ later." Leila blushed and Charlie looked at Erika. When Gibbs had left Leila turned around and looked at her kids, Ziva, and Tony. All four of them burst out laughing at the same time.

"What," Leila said. Ziva just shook her head and put her arm around Erika.

"So, Doda, are you coming home with us? For now that is." Leila looked at Erika and Charlie. Both had hopeful expressions on their faces.

"Well I suppose I don't really have anywhere else to go." The five of them got into the elevator and rode down to the garage. Suddenly, Ziva looked up.

"You ok, Zee," Tony asked. Ziva turned around and looked at Leila.

"Where did my mother go?"

"I believe she already left."

"Wow. You David women...do you all have special ninja skills?"

"First of all, Ariel is technically not a David," Leila said, "and second, yes we do." Leila got into the car. Tony looked at the twins, who were both smirking. They got into the car behind their mother, leaving Tony and Ziva the two front seats. When they got back to the DiLante house, Leila looked around.

"Just like I remember. Where are Hannah and Ben?" Erika and Charlie smiled and dashed up the stairs. Leila turned to Ziva and Tony.

"So how long have you two been together?" Ziva and Tony smiled at each other.

"A couple of years." Leila arched her eyebrows and laughed. That was when Charlie and Erika came down with Hannah and Ben. They arrived at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. Hannah's eyes widened and she and Ben both dashed forward.

"Mommy!" Everyone in the room was smiling as Leila was reunited with her children.

"Um, guys," Tony said, "Ziva and I have to go for a minute." Ziva looked confused.

"We do."

"Good luck," Leila called. When the two of them got outside, Ziva turned to Tony.

"Tony what is going on?" He pointed up to the stars.

"See that star right there? It's the really bright one." Ziva nodded.

"Yes."

"That's my star. On my sixth birthday my mom took me out behind our house. My father had forgotten me as usual, but my mom had thrown a party for me and all of my friends. She pointed at the sky and said 'Anthony? Which star would you like? You get to pick one for your birthday' I picked that one because you can always see it. After my mother died I looked at that star every night, praying for things to get better. I've noticed that when things are especially bright, something in my life changes for the better."

"Tony, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because it's especially bright tonight."

"So something in your life is going to change for the better tonight?" Tony looked down at Ziva.

"Well that depends on what you say." Ziva turned to Tony, a confused look in her eyes.

"What do you...oh my God!" Ziva put her hand over her mouth as Tony got down on one knee. He reached in his pocket and came out with a small box. He opened it to reveal a stunning diamond ring.

"Ziva David, I love you with all my heart and all my soul. Will you marry me?"

* * *

**So there ya go! Tony popped the question. Will Ziva say yes? By the way, I have a question. Who should I end up putting in a relationship with Gibbs? I've kind of been pursuing the Leila/Gibbs relationship, but I don't know how you guys would fell about that. So here is my question to all of you: Gibbs + Leila...yay or nay?**


	14. That's the Point

**Sorry I didn't update for so long, I've been busy w/ school and stuff. ANYWAY, here's the next chapter. Remember what happened last time? Tony proposed? Right, so get reading! Review if you want.**

* * *

Ziva could only stand there for a minute. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Tony I..."

"Please say yes. I stayed up all night last night trying to think of how to say this, and I was planning everything, and I..."

"Tony, listen to me." She grabbed his hand and pulled him off of his knee. She smiled and looked up at him.

"I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Yes, Tony, I'll marry you." Tony beamed. The two of them kissed. Suddenly, they heard Erika call from inside the house.

"Hey DiNozzo." Ziva and Tony broke apart and looked at Erika.

"Do you mind, Erika? We're kind of in the middle of..."

"Did she say yes?" Tony smiled.

"Yeah!" He saw Erika's head disappear inside the house. She was no doubt telling the rest of the people in the house. It wasn't long before a small figure was running towards Tony and Ziva. When Tony felt someone put a death grip on his legs, he looked down, expecting to see Hannah, but to his surprise he saw Ben.

"You're gonna be our cousin!" Tony smiled.

"Yeah buddy, I am." The three of them walked back inside.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to run," Leila said. Ziva laughed.

"Where could you possibly be going?" Leila blushed.

"Gibbs's house," Erika said, smirking. Leila pointed at the staircase leading up to the bedrooms.

"Go. Now."

"I'm just saying!"

"Go." Erika sighed and ran up the stairs. Leila turned around to look at Ziva, who was smirking.

"Do I need to send you to your room too," Leila joked.

"No, you don't. Have fun. And don't get into trouble Leila." Leila laughed.

"You sound like your mother now, Ziva." Ziva smiled. Leila turned to Tony.

"If you hurt her, I will kill you." Tony laughed.

"Believe me, I don't plan on hurting her. And you'd have to bring me back from the dead, Mrs. DiLante, because Ziva would kill me herself, and then Gibbs would kill me." Leila smiled and walked out the door. She drove over to Gibbs's house and knocked on the door. When he answered, he only had pants on.

"Jethro, who is it," Leila heard a familiar voice call. She smirked.

"Do you want me to come back later? You and Jen seem to be having fun by yourselves." Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to stand outside all day or are you going to come in and talk to us?" Leila smiled and entered Gibbs's house. Gibbs disappeared into the room she knew to be his bedroom. She looked around his kitchen. She had never been to this house, but she knew Gibbs well. She went over to the refrigerator and took out a beer. She walked down the wooden stairs into Gibbs's basement. She positioned herself under the boat he was currently building. A few minutes later, he and Jenny walked down the stairs. They sat on the work bench across from the boat.

"So," Jenny said, "are you going to tell us what happened?" Leila sighed and sat up.

"Well, where do I begin?"

"What happened on your flight?" Leila sighed.

"Tom flew the plane. About half way across the Atlantic something went wrong. It didn't affect us for another hour or so, but eventually Tom lost control of the plane. We crashed near France. We were both in rough condition but managed to get medical care in Israel."

"Wait, how did we get from France to Israel?"

"My brother arranged for us to be transported to Israel. Being Deputy Director of Mossad, he knew of our crash almost instantly. After we got out of the hospital my brother convinced Tom to join Mossad."

"And then let me guess, he was killed on a mission?" Leila shook her head. Jenny looked at Leila, obviously confused.

"Then what happened to him."

"That's the point, Jen." He's still alive."

* * *

**Ooh. So now Tom's alive too. Dang, I guess I just can't kill people these days....or can I?**


	15. Surprise!

**Hey! So it's been like forever, but I've got a nice loooong chapter for you guys this time. And a great surprise at the end. Oh, and by the way, I'm not a doctor, the medical jargon is not my thing.**

* * *

"He's what," Gibbs demanded.

"He's alive. I don't know where, and I don't know what he's doing, but he's alive."

"How do you not know? He's your husband for Christ's sake!"

"I know but my brother sent him on a mission. He couldn't tell me what it was." Jenny sighed.

"I'll call the Director of Mossad in the morning."

"Itching to see your ex-boyfriend again, Jen," Gibbs asked her.

"Nope. I'm good with the one I've got now," she said and kissed Gibbs.

"You guys do realize I'm here, right?" They pulled apart and looked at her.

"Right. This feels just like old times." The three of them smiled.

"Yeah, but we're missing one vital member of our team. We need Tom back."

* * *

The next morning, Ziva woke up to being beat with a pillow. She opened her eyes and sat up rapidly, shoving a gun in her attackers face. She heard a scream and looked at who it was. She saw Kylie. Tony groaned and sat up.

"Ziva, Sweetcheeks, why are you aiming a gun at Kylie?"

"She was beating me with a pillow." Tony rubbed his hands over his face and looked at Kylie.

"Why?"

"Erika asked me to wake you guys up. I tried everything else I could think of. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I woke up everyone else in the house including Charlie, and he sleeps like a rock."

"Why are you here anyway?"

"The whole teams here. We got a call from Gibbs. Said he got a lead."

"On what case?"

"The DiLante case."

"But Erika's mother was found," Ziva said.

"Yeah, I know, I saw her, but it takes two to tango if you know what I mean."

"Actually..."

"She means they got a lead on Tom DiLante Ziva."

"Oh."

"Erika asked me to come up here and ask you if you ever met him. Here's his picture if it helps." Kylie handed a picture of a young man with brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"I do not know him but he is definitely their father," Ziva said. Tony nodded. He could see the resemblance. Kylie nodded.

"Ok thanks. And um...sorry for hitting you with a pillow." And with that, she left. Ziva and Tony looked at each other.

"I can't believe we were in that deep a sleep. I mean, me I can understand, but I would have thought you and your Mossad ninjaness would have woken up the second Kylie opened the door." Ziva smirked.

"Maybe I was just too comfortable." Tony smiled and kissed Ziva lightly. He cupped her face as he whispered,

"I love you." Ziva smiled and kissed him again.

"I love you too." They just stayed like that for a few minutes, then Ziva moved.

"We should probably go help with finding Tom." Tony groaned.

"But I was so comfy," he said, pouting his lip. Ziva laughed and threw a shirt and some pants at him.

"Come on, get dressed and come downstairs."

"Fine." When the couple finally padded down the stairs, they were met with nine pairs of eyes. Ziva surveyed the group. Nina, Nick, Leif, and Ari were all crowded around a computer. Kylie, Erika, and Charlie were close by, talking in low voices about something. Hannah and Ben were sitting at the table, chatting animatedly. Ziva looked around and sighed. She felt Tony rub her arms gently.

"They really are our family," she said. Tony nodded.

"Yeah, they are." That was when Erika looked up and spotted them. She pushed past Charlie and Kylie and made her way over to them.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey,' Ziva said back, "what's up?" Erika looked down. She had her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Can I talk to you," she asked. Ziva looked at her cousin. She seemed almost afraid of Ziva, something very unusual for Erika. Erika was one of the few people who wasn't afraid of her when they first met. Ziva nodded.

"Sure." She kissed Tony one last time before breaking away from him and following Erika into the entryway.

"Um...Ziva?"

"Yes?"

"Look, I really don't know how to tell anyone this but it's really freaking me out. And I'm scared. And I really don't know what to do because I know that if my mother finds out I'm dead! And between this and my mom re-appearing and you and Tony getting married and trying to find my Dad I'm just...I'm scared, Ziva. Help me." Ziva blinked.

"What are you scared about?" Erika bit her lip and looked down again. Ziva took a step forward and put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders.

"Erika. I can not help you unless you tell me what the problem is." Erika opened her mouth, tears springing into her eyes.

"I don't feel well," she said, right before she collapsed to the floor. Ziva caught her right before she hit the ground.

"Tony," Ziva yelled, "Tony DiNozzo get your ass in here now!" Tony came sprinting into the room. He saw Erika on the floor, Ziva kneeling next to her.

"Do not just stand there," his fiance yelled, her accent showing up more under stress, "start the car! we have to get her to a hospital!" Tony nodded and went out the door just as everyone else came into the room. A chorus of Oh my Gods were heard, as Ziva picked Erika up and brought her to the car.

"Charlie you're in charge," she yelled back, as the exited the house. Charlie ran up to her.

"No way. I'm coming with you." Ziva and the boy stared at each other for a moment before Ziva nodded.

"All right then. Kylie, you're in charge!" And with that, they sped off in the car to the hospital.

* * *

"Will you stop pacing? It is getting annoying," Ziva said to Charlie. He had been pacing non-stop for the past two hours since Erika was admitted to the ER. Charlie just glared at Ziva and continued pacing.

"Family for Erika DiLante," a doctor in a white coat said. Ziva, Tony, and Charlie all stood up. The doctor spotted them and walked over. Tony then recognized him as Dr. Brad Pitt.

"Brad," Tony said.

"Tony! How have you been?"

"Fantastic, and you?"

"I've been ok."

"Tony do you know him," Ziva asked. Brad offered his hand to Ziva.

"Doctor Brad Pitt. I treated Tony when he had the plague. Speaking of when you had the plague, how is Agent Todd?" Ziva looked down as Tony answered,

"Dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. How's the girl, Brad?" Brad nodded.

"She should be ok."

"Should be," Ziva asked, obviously not liking the answer.

"Well, she is currently in a medically induced coma. We didn't want her hurting herself. She will wake up in a couple of hours." Charlie breathed a sigh of relief.

"So she's fine?"

"Yes, they both are."

"Both?"

"Yes. She and the baby are both fine. Nice seeing you again Tony," Brad said as he ran off to another appointment. Ziva, Tony, and Charlie all looked at her.

"Erika..."

"Is..."

"Pregnant?!"

* * *

**BWAHAHAHA!!! I know, I'm evil, but I just thought I'd throw that one at you guys and then end the chapter :D I'm sorry, it's just too fun. Oh by the way, I'm kind of brain dead right now so this might be a crappy chapter, but I'm trying here. And hey, it's a pretty long update, so please be happy and leave me a review?**


	16. Killing the Mood

**Woaahh! So how long has it been dudes? Okay, well anyhoo, here's the newest chapter. Remember what happened last time? Erika was pregnant? Right, so here we go:  
**

* * *

"But," Charlie stammered, "how?" Tony and Ziva looked at him.

"Ok I know how but who? She's sixteen!" Tony put his hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Calm down Charlie."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? My sixteen year old sister is pregnant, and we have no idea who the father is!"

"Well here's an idea, how bout we wait until Erika wakes up and then ask her?"

"Because she probably won't tell us!" As Tony and Charlie argued, Ziva walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me. I'd like to know where an Erika DiLante is being held." The nurse nodded and checked a list.

"Room 206. The doctors just cleared her for visitors. You can go in one at a time." Ziva smiled and thanked her.

"Tony I am going to go see her," Ziva told her fiance.

"I'm coming with you," Charlie said. Ziva crossed her arms and stood in front of him.

"I don't think so. She can only have one visitor at a time." Before the boys could protest, she turned on her heel and walked to room 206. She saw Erika lying on the bed with an IV in her arm. Ziva sighed and bit her lip. Erika reminded her so much of Tali. She had never said that to her. Suddenly, her phone rang.

"David."

"Hey Ziva," Tali's voice echoed across the line, "I heard Erika got taken to the hospital! Is she ok?"

"I think she will be. The doctors say she should be waking up any moment now."

"How is the baby?"

"The baby is...wait, you knew?" Tali sighed.

"She came to me a few weeks ago saying her period was late. I went out and got her a pregnancy test. Sure enough, all the results were positive."

"How did she react?"

"She was scared, really scared, but excited. She knew that being a teenage mom would be hard, but she was excited that she would be having a child of her own." Ziva sighed.

"Did she tell you who the father is?" Tali was silent.

"Tali," Ziva yelled, "did she tell you who the father is?" Her sister sighed deeply before answering softly.

"Yes." Ziva froze.

"Who is it?"

"I...I can't tell you."

"Dammit Tali, tell me who it is!"

"She swore me to secrecy Ziva I have to honor that!" The argument stopped, neither sister speaking for a good two minutes.

"You haven't changed," Ziva said softly.

"I hope that's a good thing," Tali replied. Ziva smiled.

"It is. I always admired your loyalty Tali."

"My loyalty?"

"The way you always keep your promises, no matter what. You only break a promise if it is absolutely necessary. Other than that, your lips will be permanently sealed. I wish I could be like that." Tali scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? _You_ want to be like _me_? I never told you this, but you are my idol. Growing up I was enchanted by everything you did. The way you talked, walked, and just lived your life. Now. you haven't changed either. I still wish I could be like you, akhoti." Ziva put a hand over her mouth, trying not to cry. Tali, being the sensitive person she was, picked up on this immediately.

"Well don't cry Ziva that is supposed to be a compliment." Ziva laughed.

"I'm not crying."

"Liar."

"I...Tali she's waking up I have to go," Ziva said as she saw her cousin begin to stir. The young girl furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Ziva standing over her bed.

"Ziva?" Ziva smiled and took Erika's hand in her own.

"Hey. How are you?" Erika sat up in the bed a little bit, looking around at her surroundings.

"Okay. I feel like I was hit by a truck, but other than that I'm fine." The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Ziva finally said,

"Why didn't you tell me?" Erika sighed and lay back down, crossing her arms over her stomach protectively.

"I guess...I was scared. I wasn't sure how you would take it, and you were so busy with

Tony and all I just didn't want to ruin the mood." Ziva laughed.

"You didn't tell me you were pregnant because you didn't want to ruin the mood?" Erika didn't answer, but simply looked down.

"I'd apologize, but I've been living by Gibbs's rules too long to do that." Ziva chuckled and bent down to kiss Erika on the forehead.

"Well I want you to know that you'll never have to worry about telling me anything ever again, okay?" Erika nodded.

"Thanks Ziva." Ziva nodded. She noticed the younger girl's eyes were drooping.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll be here when you wake up." Erika nodded before drifting off to sleep. Ziva stroked her cousin's hair tenderly before getting up and going to walk out of the room. On her way out, she bumped into a man with brown hair and blue eyes holding a bouquet of flowers. The man had some beard stubble and seemed a bit older than when she'd previously seen him, but she gasped as she recognized him as the man in the picture she'd been shown that morning.

"Excuse me," the man said, moving past Ziva into Erika's room. Ziva turned around, still in complete and utter shock.

"You're...you're Tom DiLante."

* * *

**Ahhh. And now Tom's back. Well aren't we just having a happy little family reunion. Next, Tom and Ziva have a heart to heart? Tom shoots Ziva to protect his cover? Hmm....I'm not quite sure what's going to happen...suggestions?**


	17. Author's Note

**Okay. Sorry this isn't another chapter, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I won't be updating for awhile. And I know I suck at updating ANYWAY, but this might be for longer than usual.**

**Up until now I've just been writing chapters as I go along. Now I'm going to write them to completion and post like maybe one a day or something.  
**

**Just thought I'd let you know! After I'm done writing I'll actually be able to update! Cause I know I suck at it right now so that's why I'm doing this.**

**I love you all madly!**

**xo-Erika-xo**


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